Five Freedoms Animal Rescue

and East Trentham Wildlife Shelter

Tranquilliser Darting

Tranquilliser darting is a highly specialised service that provides the most effective means to capture very mobile, unapproachable, large and dangerous animals. In most cases, captured animals need to be sedated to allow safe handling and transportation and to reduce the detrimental effects of stress during capture and restraint, so the remote delivery of a tranquillising drug is highly beneficial for the welfare of the animal. Situations that warrant the use of a tranquilliser gun include:

Relocation of difficult animals such as deer

Vicious dogs running at large

Assistance to Council and Park Rangers

Management of animals on Land Development & Construction sites

Injured animals (wildlife or domestic) that cannot be caught

Deer with entanglements on their antlers

Emus loose in suburban areas

Escaped livestock

Capture of animals for veterinary treatment

Remote delivery of drug injection to avoid need for animal capture

Sedation of deer for velveting

Capture of kangaroos in suburban and industrial areas

Animal rescues following floods or bushfires

Assistance to Zoos and Wildlife Parks

Scientific research programs

With the experience of darting over 2,000 animals, and through close work with specialist veterinarians, effective drug selection and darting techniques have been perfected and which have lead to the development of proven Safe Work Methods and Standard Operating Procedures.

Tranquilliser Darting Equipment

Tranquilliser darting is carried out using state of art equipment – the Pneu-Dart® X-CaliberTM Gauged CO2 Rifle. The X-Caliber rifle utilizes high pressure CO2 gas cylinders to propel the tranquilliser darts. The benefit of the X-Caliber model dart gun is the level of control of power delivered to project darts. Operating pressure can be set low enough to project darts with minimum necessary impact to result in drug delivery over distances from just 3 m but can be increased to achieve a range of up to 50 m. CO2 fired guns are also more consistent in darting accuracy and are more silent than cartridge fired guns. The X-Caliber is fitted with a rifle scope for improved aiming and darting distances are measured using a Digital Laser Rangefinder which is essential to achieve appropriate impact and target accuracy.

Pneu-Dart® disposable darts Type 'P' are used with the X-Caliber rifle. Darts are single use and rely on impact to detonate a small charge within the dart that delivers the drug through the hypodermic needle. This type of dart has been in use for many years and has a proven track record for reliability and performance. The Type 'P' darts are available in volume sizes ranging from ½ cc to 6 cc and with needle lengths from 10 mm to 50 mm to suit a vast range of animal types and darting applications.

Donate to Five Freedoms

For many years, Wildlife Victoria had funded difficult rescues of kangaroos that required tranquilliser darting. Such funding ceased in August 2017 after they announced that they could no longer afford to shoulder this burden.

Rescues that require darting include kangaroos and wallabies that are hit by vehicles, loose on roads, attacked by dogs, trapped in shopping centres, in buildings and in backyards, victims of cruelty and escaped orphaned joeys. The State Government does not accept responsibility for all of these victims and does not fund this essential service. As a result, I am now in the position of having to cover the expenses of darting rescues myself, as I am not prepared to just let these animals suffer.

If you would like to donate funds to help me continue to dart kangaroos and wallabies who are displaced or injured, please deposit into the following account:

Alternatively, if you prefer to donate directly to our Wildlife Shelter to help cover costs of Veterinary bills or special milk formula for orphaned joeys, then please deposit funds into the following bank account: